We’re almost 10,000 words into Overreactions this season and I woke up Saturday still trying to find something noteworthy to say about Georgia.

Overreactions are inspired, not contrived. Unlike some of Auburn’s passes Saturday, they’re not forced.

They organic, inspired by an action on the field or sideline.

I can’t just overreact simply because something exists — unless it’s about somebody who pretends it doesn’t.

For 4 1/2 weeks, Mike Bobo pretended Brock Bowers didn’t exist.

Why? Who knows. Then the 2nd half at Auburn happened and, just like that, Georgia looked like Georgia again.

So did Ole Miss’ offense. Unfortunately, Florida looked like Florida again, too.

Those are just some of the 10 things I’m absolutely overreacting to after Week 5 in and around the SEC.

10. Give Brock Bowers the Heisman!

He won’t win the Heisman, just because … but if you watched Georgia’s tense dogfight with Auburn, you understand completely why he should.

Bowers had 13 catches for 135 yards through 3 games, but don’t blame him. As great as he is, he can’t catch balls that aren’t thrown his way.

Saturday, with Georgia stuck in the mud, down again, on the road, Bowers took over.

For the first time this season, OC Mike Bobo force-fed the offense through Bowers, and QB Carson Beck rarely took his eyes off him.

Bowers finished with 8 catches for 157 yards and a TD — the winning TD on a 40-yard catch-and-run beauty in which he broke 2 tackles and outran another defender to the end zone.

That was after making back-to-back 1-handed grabs on balls that should have been incompletions — or worse.

Georgia still didn’t look like the No. 1-ranked team in the country Saturday, but Brock Bowers certainly looked like the best player in America.

9. Billy Napier has got to go … now

The buyout is irrelevant. (I mean, SMU boosters just spent $200M just to join the ACC. UF boosters can’t find $31M in a league that cuts the school an annual check in the 50s? Please …) And next year’s recruiting ranking, which is the next thing mentioned whenever Billy Napier’s future is discussed, is about as relevant right now as Tim Tebow’s highlight tapes.

What else you got? He inherited a disaster? Like Lincoln Riley, Mario Cristobal, Mike Elko and Coach Prime didn’t?

What other reasons do you have for retaining Napier and hoping for a Year 3 breakthrough?

It can’t have much to do with actual coaching. Whatever soft-spoken message Napier is delivering is not resonating.

There’s no other way to explain what happened Saturday in Lexington, where the Gators lost to Kentucky for the 3rd consecutive time.

In a game both sides agreed would be determined at the line of scrimmage, Kentucky came out swinging, and the Gators retreated.

Everybody loses. (Napier is now 9-9 after Saturday’s debacle, including 0-2 vs. Kentucky.) This wasn’t that. This was much, much worse than merely losing. This Gators team wanted absolutely no part of a fight they knew was coming.

How else do you explain Ray Davis rushing for 206 yards and scoring 3 TDs in the first half?

The first half is all about executing the game plan you spent all week (if not longer) preparing. Kentucky obviously saw how soft this Gators team is and set out to prove the point.

Certainly, Napier and his staff would make adjustments at halftime, right? Kentucky drove 68 yards for a TD on the opening possession of the 3rd quarter. Davis had a 31-yard run … and then powered into the end zone for his 4th TD … on a play in which the Gators had 13 defenders on the field.

Jesse Palmer sounded incredulous, noting that Kentucky had 9 guys blocking 13 Gators … and still ran it in.

We haven’t even mentioned Florida’s issues on offense, which Napier still controls.

All of this is coaching. If you still think Billy Napier is the answer, it’s time to change your question.

Too soon to fire him? Fine. Demote him and make him the highest-paid recruiting coordinator in college football history. I hear he’s pretty good at that.

8.  Who is the worst defensive coordinator in the SEC?

Honestly, this might be the most entertaining question of the 2023 season.

The competition is stout — which is the antithesis of the defensive products on the field.

Ole Miss and LSU engaged in a flag football game Saturday that featured:

  • 104 points
  • 8 TD passes
  • 803 passing yards
  • 55 first downs
  • Just 3 3-and-outs
  • $3.8 million combined annual salaries for defensive coordinators Pete Golding (Ole Miss) and Matt House (LSU).

7. Signature win, though?

I saw this sentiment a lot after Ole Miss pulled out the 55-49 heart-stopper, giving Lane Kiffin a huge win over a ranked rival.

It was a heck of a win, no doubt, defensive issues and all.

Still, I wonder how many coaches would sign their name to a game in which they gave up 49 points at home.

On second thought, Lane Kiffin definitely would, especially after scoring 15 points in the final 5 minutes.

6. Oh, Dilfer … Bucs fans used to do this after most of your throws …

I worry about some of these head coaches, the pent-up anger, stress they must feel. The need to lash out.

Context: UAB isn’t very good, but the Blazers were in a 1-possession game with a chance to upset Tulane. UAB’s defense had an illegal substitution on 4th-and-2 that gave Tulane a first down.

Was it a bad penalty? Of course, but isn’t every pre-snap penalty? Ultimately, UAB’s gaffe didn’t mean squat. Tulane’s possession ended with a missed field goal attempt.

UAB coach Trent Dilfer obviously couldn’t have known that, but there has to be a happy medium between holding people accountable and absolutely losing your mind on the sideline.

I mean, can you imagine if Tony Dungy lost his mind like this every time Dilfer made a mistake?

Dilfer threw 56 interceptions in the 4 seasons Dungy was his head coach in Tampa Bay. Fans frequently had this reaction after a “Dilfer Dime” to the opponent, but the most animated Dungy ever got was crossing his arms.

At least this time Dilfer berated an adult. The last time we saw him act like this, he was pushing and screaming at one of his high school players.

Progress?

5. Ranking 5 best transfer QBs

Entering Week 5, 10 of the top 12 Power 5 QBs in yards per game were transfers. The only 2 who weren’t: UNC’s Drake Maye and Georgia’s Carson Beck.

The top 10 Power 5 QBs in TD passes were all transfers.

Not much changed in Week 5, either. The transfers are dominating.

Here are the best of the best:

1. Caleb Williams, USC (via Oklahoma): Every QB list starts with the reigning Heisman winner. The talent is obvious. More impressive is his commitment to crushing complacency. There is zero complacency in his quest to become just the 2nd 2-time Heisman winner. Williams threw for 403 yards and 6 TDs Saturday … and USC needed every bit of it to hold off Colorado. Williams leads the country with 21 TD passes.

2. Michael Penix, Washington (via Indiana): He led the country in just about every passing category entering Week 5 and he is the reason the Huskies deserve to be in the Playoff conversation. Still — even after a relatively dull win at Arizona in which Penix failed to throw a TD pass for just the 2nd time at UDub. (He still leads the country with 1,999 passing yards.) The victory margin was 7, but if you watched more than the box score, you’d realize that the Huskies led by double-digits throughout and were never threatened. They’ll have a bye week to prepare for their Week 7 showdown against Oregon.

3. Bo Nix, Oregon (via Auburn): The change of scenery changed the narrative. “Bad Bo” is a thing of the past. There still are questions about what Nix will do against an elite defense, but there are only 3 of them in college football.

4. Sam Hartman, Notre Dame (via Wake Forest): It’s not his fault the Irish lost to Ohio State. But his gutsy effort Saturday, highlighted by a rare run on 4th-and-16, rallied the Irish past pesky Duke and kept their Playoff hopes alive.

5. Jayden Daniels, LSU (via Arizona State): It’s not his fault LSU lost 55-49 to Ole Miss. All Daniels did was throw for  a career-high 414 yards and 4 TDs. He now has 16 TD passes in 5 games — most in the SEC and tied for 2nd nationally.

4. The 4 Playoff teams are …

1. Michigan, 2. Texas, 3. Oregon, 4. Washington

Why? I trust all of these offenses more than I trust Georgia’s — and unlike the past 2 years when the Dawgs had dudes capable of making elite offenses look average, this defense would give up 30 against those teams. You probably could throw FSU and Ohio State into that mix as well. USC might score 40, but also would give up 50.

Before you bang Washington for a 7-point win at Arizona, keep in mind Georgia had the exact same margin at Auburn — and the Dawgs haven’t looked nearly as good as UDub at any point this season.

It’ll all sort itself out soon enough.

As long as Georgia stays unbeaten, it’s a moot point, anyway.

3. Oh, Dabo …

Give Dabo Swinney credit for trying to instill some confidence in his wandering Tigers, who have spent more time out of the Top 25 in the past 3 seasons (9 weeks) than they spent outside of the top 10 from 2014-2020 (5 weeks).

Before dismissing Syracuse on Saturday to climb back above .500, Swinney compared his 2-2 Tigers to his 2016 national champions.

Swinney said the 2016 team “stunk” but was luckier than this year’s team.

“I’ve never had a team play better in the first 4 games,” Swinney said of this 2023 team, which scored 7 points against Duke.

Those 2016 Tigers certainly were lucky. Lucky to have a generational quarterback in Deshaun Watson, a 1,000-yard rusher in Wayne Gallman, a 1,000-yard receiver in Mike Williams (and 3 other receivers who were drafted) and a trio of DL standouts who grew into the most dominant front in college football.

Sorry, Dabo. Those Tigers beat these Tigers 42-13.

2. Now Clemson wants to leave the ACC, too? I know why …

When FSU and Clemson finally leave the ACC, blame Wake Forest and Duke.

The Noles and Tigers never said a word until they suddenly started losing to the Deacs and Devils.

I can’t blame them for wanting a change of scenery.

I mean, who wouldn’t want to play Rutgers and Indiana every year?

1. Overreaction of the week of the year

So, you’re saying there’s a chance Michigan State hires Butch Jones?